Democrats already looking for the right woman for 2016

Prominent Democratic activists and women’s groups are determined to ensure the party fields a powerful female presidential candidate in 2016, drawing encouragement from a 2012 cycle that saw Democrats win female voters by a lopsided, 11-percentage-point margin and elect several new women to the Senate.

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For the network of women who helped reelect President Barack Obama to a second term — and put in the Senate Democrats such as Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii — 2016 looms large as an opportunity to shatter the centuries-old lock men have held on the White House.

Women’s groups have long aspired to elect a female president, but only in the past half-decade have their efforts reached what strategists widely view as a critical mass. After the roles Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin played in the 2008 campaign, it would be hard for many to accept another cycle like the 2012 presidential race, which featured two all-male national tickets.

The challenge that hangs over both parties, but especially Democrats, is finding the right woman for the job. The glass ceiling that women in both parties are determined to shatter has filled their respective benches with potential rising stars but few, if any, sure-bet presidential contenders. On the left, even the most enthusiastic proponents of recruiting women to the race are asking themselves: if not Clinton, who?

“It’s critical that we have a woman on the ticket in some form or fashion. Given that the Republican Party has produced a woman VP candidate, I think it’s important that we ensure that the Democratic Party continues to lead,” said Neera Tanden, who heads the liberal Center for American Progress and has advised both Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama.

“I hope that Hillary runs,” she said. “She says she’s not running. I hope she runs. I hope she changes her mind, but I think there will be increased demand for a woman candidate.”

EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock called the 2012 elections a breakthrough year — one that put the power of female voters on spectacular display, creating “an incredibly strong bench of women leaders” and “opening the door even wider for a woman to become president of the United States.”

“Hillary Clinton absolutely stands at the top of people to run for president, period. She decides not to run, there’s kind of a gap. To be fair, I don’t think that has anything to do with gender,” Schriock said. “We expect to see a woman on the ticket in 2016. We’re going to do everything we can to ensure that there’s a woman on the ticket in 2016.”

Tanden and Schriock both predicted strong female candidates would emerge for 2016 whether Clinton chooses to run or not. Longtime Clinton supporter Ann Lewis, a senior adviser to the former first lady’s 2008 campaign, said that presidential bid stirred up lasting interest in choosing a female commander in chief.